Apparatus for tufting fabricb



Apnl 16, 1935. w. D. VAN DYKE APPARATUS FOR TUFTING FABRICS originalFiled March "r, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .Elli

Inuen'o VApril 15, 1935. w. [3. VAN DYKE Re. 19,541

APPARATUS FOR TUFTING FABRICS Original Filed March '7, 1931 2Sheets-Sheet 2 I Inv/en'or.' William D.Uan17`y1ce,

Rented Apr. 1e, 193s NUNITI-:D ,STATES 19541 APPARATUS FOB T'UFTINGFABRICS William D. Van Dyke, Chattanooga, Tenn., assignor to van DykeTextigraph Corp., Chattanooga, Tenn., a corporation of TennesseeOriginal No. 1,888,941, dated November 22, 1932,

Serial No. 520,877, March 7, 1931. Application for reissue October Z4,1934, Serial No.

5 the fabric, will advance along the fabric automatically as the tuftingis applied thereto.

A further object oi' the invention is to kprovide a form of tool whichwill control the inserted loop from the upper side of the fabric thatis, the side upon which the tool is-located, to prevent the lastinserted loopvor tuft from being withdrawn as the needle penetrates thefabric on a new stroke.

A further object of the invention is to provide driving means in thehandle of the tool of compact and simple form, whereby the said drivingvmechanism is enclosed within the casing, which aifords a comfortable andproper size of handle for directing the tool over the surface of thefabric.'

The invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view of the tool;

-Flgure 2 is a transverse section of Figure 1 on line 2 2;

Figure 3 is a' cross-section on line I-I of Figure 1:

Figure 4 is a cross-section on line 6 4 of Figure l; Figure 5 isavbottom plan end of the implement; .J

Figure 6 is 'a longitudinal sectional view ofa modification in which twoneedles are employed;

Figure '1 is a eros-sectional view of Figure 6 on line 1'|;

Figure 8 is a bottom plan view of Figure 6;

Figure 9 is a longitudinal section of a further form of the invention inwhich the needle holder is .swiveled to permit curved lines ofembroidery or tufting to be made on the fabric;

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view oi' Figure 9 on line i-lil;

Figure 10a is a bottom view of Figure 9:

Figure l1 shows a mounting for the implement which guides it as itautomatically traverses the fabric as a result of the operation of theneedle;

and 'Figure 12 is a plan view of Figure l1.

Inthese drawings, I is a hollow needle having its ends beveled at 2,this bevel being on the rear side of the needle in relation to thedirection in which the tool traverses the fabric during the loperationof the apparatus. This needle has directly juxtaposed thereto. a presserfoot 3 view of theV lower 27 Claims. (Ci. 112480) which is also inclinedor beveled toward its rear side, as indicated at l. 'The block 5, whichcarries this presser foot has a groove at 6, on its front side in whichthe needle i lies, and the enlarged portion of the block has an openingat 'I through which the elongated hollow needle is guided.

The block is xed within the lower end of the casing B, which is ofsubstantially cylindrical form, encloses a driving mechanism and servesas a handle by which the tool may be directed over the fabric to betufted or embroidered. The needle at its upper end is attached by a pinor screw 9 vto the-'lower end ofa sleeve I0 of a diameter to flt theinterior diameter of the case 8 so as-to be guided'thereby. This sleevehas within it a double screw-threaded member il, the exterior diameterof which is substantially that of the interior diameter oi' the sleeve.This double screw member is small in diameter, and consequently thediameter of the sleeve and that of the outer casing are keptwithinlimits to provide a. tool of elongated character, and ofcomparatively small diameter to be comfortably held in the handsubstantially no larger than that of a fountain penf The 'double screwmember converts rotary motion,

which is applied thereto, -into reciprocating motion inthe sleeve I0 andthe' needle I, and the arrangement of parts involved in this translationof the rotary motion of the motor into reciprocating motion of theneedle is such that av compact form of tool is provided, and thisdriving mechanism `is immediately adjacent the needle so that a positivedrive isimparted thereto, and the stroke of the needle is maintainedwithout variation.

The sleeve has a stud Ii a which engages the screw by which the sleeveis reciprocated.

The sleeve has a longitudinal groove into which a screw IIb extendswhich holds the sleeve against rotation while guiding it in itsreciprocating movement.

vThe upper end oi the screw member ii is provided with a collar i2, on'a stemv i3 passing through a bearing block I4, xed by a screw I5 to thecasing and within the same. and this shaft member or stem i3 is attachedat its upper end to one member il of a friction clutch. The other memberof this friction clutch i8 is faced with a disc oi' leather i9 so astoimpart motion to the member Il and thus to the screw `member when themember i8 i's rotated. This member i8 is connected in any suitable waywith the ilexible shaft at 20, extending back to the electric lso to"provide a' thrust bearing. The drive may be controlled by a button orbuttons 22 mounted in the casing, the shanks of which extend through thecasing andy have their inner ends bearing frictonally upon a part of therotary organization as the member I1, so that by pressing these buttons,ricticnal resistance is exerted to control the speed of revolution ofthe screw and the reciprocations of the needle.

For threading the appliance, the needle is provided with an elongatedeye 23 in its side. As above stated, the needle is of tubular form, andits upperend being secured to the sleeve is not available for receivingthe yarn,lso that in order that the yarn may be inserted. the eye 23 isprovided. The Vyarn may be directed through a. tube or guide 24 onknurled sleeve 2te fixed on theI exterior of the casing and extendinglongitudinally thereof, the lower end of this tube being adjacent anopening 25 in the side of the casing, which enable access to be had tothe eye 23 of the needle so that the thread may be inserted through thiseye, and thus direct it to the lower end of the needle so as to beoperated upon by the beveledend thereof. In the operation `of theapparatus, it is only necessary to hold the tool against the fabric withthe presser foot bearing thereon. The reciprocation of the needle willcarry the thread through the fabric, and the implement will feed itselfalong the fabric due to the action of theneedle and the presser foot',the said presser foot riding over` ther operation of the implement.

As above stated, the w01 wiii feed itself automatically along the clothbeing embroidered, and

in explanation of this action, it is believed that the rear inclinedface of the needle playsan important part in connection with thejuxtaposed presser foot. When the needle is in the act of penetratingthe fabric, it is impelled in a forward direction, by reason of theinclined lower end thereof riding against the fabric, and thus thefabric is pushed in a forward direction on the advance side of theneedle. When the needle retracts, the recovery of the fabric, which hasbeen distorted or pushed in a forward direction, will cause it to assumea position beneath the extreme forward point of the needle, so thatwhenthe needle is again advanced, the point of the needle will penetratethe fabric in advance of the point on said fabric where the previouspenetrationoccurred. Contributing to this action is the `,juxtaposedpresser foot, which is inclined on its rear face, and presents its lowerpointed end against the fabric directly adjacent the rear face of theneedle on which it bears. The fabric furnishes an abutment against whichthe pressure will be exerted by the inclined face of the presser .Yfoot, resulting in a forward movement of said 'presser' foot, 'with theimplement so that the needle will penetrate at a point in advance of thepoint of previous penetration. l,

The use of the presser foot withlts beveled face on its rear side may besaid to contribute to the automatic traversing action of the implementover the cloth by reason of the tendency of the lower point of thispresser `foot to penetrate the fabric as the needleis retracted.

Reverting to details of the mechanism, I show a spring at a for pressingthe member I8 of the friction clutch downwardly against the memberparatus, I may employ a pair of needles la, lb,

Figure 6, arranged side by side, and connected to the sleeve, but inthis case the sleeve willvbe split into two parts Hc, Hd, one for eachof the needles. 'I'he pins connecting these sleeve sections with thescrew as shown at Hx will be so located in relation to the double screwthat when one sleeve is all the way down, the other sleeve section willbe all the way up. 'I'he needles, therefore, will penetrate the clothalternately, and the tool will advance by a step by step action, eachneedle when located in the cloth serving as a pivot about which the toolwill swing in carrying the other needle to an advancedposition for newlypenetrating the fabric. The tool,

under this modication, will step itself along,.-

swinglng first in one direction about one needle and-then in the otherdirection about the other needle, according to which of said needles isinA its advanced position penerating the fabric.

Another form of the invention is shown in Figures 9 andV l0 in which theneedle is mounted in a member 26 together with the presser foot, theseparts being located at a point off center from the vertical axis of thehead 26 about which it turns. This head is swiveled at 21 within thecasing so as to turn readily about the longitudinal axis of the tool,and connection with the double screw isl aorded in any suitable way sothat the needle will be reciprocated as above described in relation toits presser foot, and by reason of the eccentric relation of the presserfoot and needle to the longitudinal axis of the appliance, the appliancemay be directed. along lines other than straight so that script writingmay be embroidered on the fabric or other designs involving curves r'naybe made, in allof which operations the needle and its presser foot willtrail in relation to the longitudinal axis of the tool as this isadvanced over the fabric.

In this form of the appliance the needle ld has a head 23 at its'upperend which is grooved at 29 in which a disc 3|) engages. arrangedcentrally of the casing and it is carried by a rod 3i extending from thesleeve which is reciprocated bythe double -screw member to which it isattached by the pin or set screw 32. By this construction the needle, asit moves about the axis of the tool, will maintain its connection withthe reciprocating sleeve by the grooved head 28 engaging and movingabout the edge of the disc 30. A

In Figures l1 and l?y I show at 33 a carrier in which the-implement ismounted adjustably by a set screw 34. This carrier moves upon attack orguide rails 35, suitable rollers being provided for ease of movement.`The track'is suitably sup- This disc is ported in fixed position overthe fabriclor in other words the fabric is placed in a fixed positionre, latingto a fixed guide frame for the carriage 33 to move along. Thetool is set at an inclination to the fabric. and the pressure' footbears thereon at its lower point, theinclined rear face rising'from thispoint of contact.

Thistool will advance itself along the fabric automatically. The trackis horizontal and is parallel with the fabric which may be held in anysuitable frame. Y

'I'he carrier may support a gang of tools, and the track upon which thecarrier moves may be adjustable laterally so that, when one row orplurality of rows of tufts have been inserted into the fabric, theappliance may be shifted laterally over the adjacent part of the fabricfor the tuft ing of this portion.

This adjustment may be effected by a suitable screw shaft 36.

I claim:

1. A turilng appliance comprising ra tubular needle of cylindrical formbeveled at its lower end upwardly and rearwardly and having its point inline with the straight front surface of said -tubular needle, a presserfoot in rear of the needle and juxtaposed lto the rear surface of theneedle to immediately overlie the last loop inserted as the applianceadvances step by step over the surface of the cloth, the presser footbeing maintained against the cloth during the reciprocations l beingmaintained against theA cloth as the needle of the needle, and means forreciprocating the needle, said appliance advancing automatically alongthe fabric during and as a consequence of the operation of the needle,and means for directing the thread down through the interior of theneedle.

2. A tuning appliance comprising a tubular needle through the interiorof which the thread feeds, said tubular needle having its` lower endface inclining upwardly and rearwardly, a presser foot in rear of andjuxtaposed to the needle, means for reciprocating the needle, thepresser foot reciprocates, said appliance feeding itself along thesurface of the cloth, substantially as described. y3'. A turng appliancein accordance with claim '2 in which the presser foot is inclinedrearwardly A and upwardly on its rear face, said inclined face extendingfrom the point in juxtaposition to the rear face of the needle tube,substantially as described.

4. A turiing appliance according'to claim 2 in which the presser foot isgrooved on its front side to receive, guide, and sustain the needlelaterelly. substantially as described.

5. A turlng appliance comprising a tubularl needle, a carrying member, ablock at the lower end of said member having an opening in which theneedle is guided, said block having a downward' extension grooved on itsfront side for guiding the needle, said extension lying on the rear faceof the tubular needle and terminating in a presser foot to rest on thecloth, and means for reciprocating the needle, substantially -as de.-scribed.

6. A turflng appliance comprising a substan? from said sleeve by whichsaid sleeve is operated,

and means extending into the casing for rotating the doublescrew-threaded member, substantially as described.

'7. A turng appliance comprising a-'substantially cylindrical elongatedcasing having a presser foot at its lower end, a reciprocating needle, asleeve to which the needle is attached. a

y double threaded screw within the sleeve for operating the same, arotary shaft for operating the screw, a friction clutch within thecasing operated by the shaft, and a thrust bearing within the casing forthe screw, substantially as described.

il. An appliance of the class described comprising an elongatedcylindrical member having a presser foot and a reclprocatory needle atits lower end, and driving mechanism for said needle to convert rotaryinto reciprocating movement, said driving mechanism being located withinthe elongated casing, which casing serves as a handle for the appliance,said appliance having a thread guide tube extending longitudinally ofthe handle member, said handle member having an opening through whichthe thread passes, and said needle having a lateral opening to receivethe thread,

ksaid needle being of tubular form and through which the thread passesto the substantially as described.

9. A turfing appliance comprising a pair of reciprocating needlesarranged side by side, a frame member, and means for operating thereciprocating needles alternately, whereby when one needle isreti-acting, the other needle is advancing, each oi' said needles beingin the form of a tube for guiding the thread to the point of the needle,substantially as described.

10. A turing appliance according to claim 9 including presser foot meansjuxtaposed to the needles, said appliance having an automatic feedingaction along the surface of the cloth being turfed, the applianceoscillating about the needles alternately during the forward feedingmovement of the appliance along the cloth. substantially as described. l

l1. In combination in a turfing appliance, a pair of needles arranged onopposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the lappliance, a framemember, a double screw within the frame member, and a split sleeve, onemember of which is attached -to one of the needles and the other memberof which is attached to the other needle, with a connection between saidsleeve sections and the double screw for operating said sections inopposite directions relative to each other, the said double screw beingarranged coaxially with an axial line midway between the two needles,substantially as described.

point thereof,

l2. VIn combination, a pair of tubular needles Y other, and presser footmeans juxtaposed to the needles, substantially as described.

13. In combination in a turnng appliance, a A

frame or carrying member, an oscillating block or head mounted in saidcarrying member, a needle and presser foot carried by said oscillatingblock, said parts being located to one side of the center of oscillationof said block, and means for reciprocating the needle, Vsaid oscillatingblockturning automatically as the direction of movement of theinstrument is changed, thereby causing the needle to assume a trailingposition in respect to the direction of movement, substantially asdescribed.

14. In combination in a turng appliance, a

cloth while allowing the appliance freedom to vtraverse said clothautomatically, said presser foot having its lower ,end in rear of theneedle terminating in a point having a tendency to indent the fabric,the said appliance feeding forward automatically along the cloth duringand as a consequence of the operation of the needle, substantially asdescribed. v

15. In apparatus of the class described, a reciprocating hollow needle,a presser foot in rear of and contacting with the needle, both theneedle and presser foot being beveled upwardly and rearwardly, and meansfor reciprocating the needle relative to the presser foot.

16. Apparatus according to claim l5 having a guide way and a carrier forthe needle and presser foot movable along said guide way.

1'?. A turflng appliance according to claim 2 in which the presser footguides the needle and sustains it against lateral displacement.

18. In apparatus of the class described, a reciprocating hollow needle,a presser foot in rear of and adjacent the needle, both the needle andpresser foot being beveled upwardly and rearwardly, and means forvreciprocating the needle relative to the presser foot.

19. Apparatus of the class described, a. reciprocating hollow needlehaving its lower end face inclined upwardly and rearwardly, a presserfoot in rear of and in xed relation adjacent the needle .and of suchlimited extent from front to rear that it will overlie only the lastinserted loop, and means for reciprocating the needle while the presserfoot is maintained in contact with said last inserted loop,substantially as described.

20. In combination, a reciprocable hollow neele having its lower endinclined upwardly and rearwardly, a presser foot adjacent the rear sideof said needle, having its lower face inclining upwardly and rearwardly,means for reciprocating the needle, a support for said parts, and meansfor holding and guiding the support over the surface of the fabric to betufted, said holding and guiding means maintaining the support with thepresser foot pressed against the fabric while the needle isreciprocated.

2l. In an appliance of the class described, a tubular support, a needle,and a presser foot, a rotary shaft extending into the tubular support, adouble screw-threaded member mounted coaxially with said support andwithin the same and connected with the rotary shaft, and a memberreciprocated lengthwise of the tubular support by said doublescrew-threaded member and connected with the needle for operating thesame.

22. A power-driven turilng appliance comprising a tubular needle ofcylindrical form beveled at its lower end upwardly and rearwardly andhaving its point in line with the straight front surface `of saidtubular needle, a presser foot juxtaposed to the rear surface of theneedle .to immediately overlie the last loop inserted as the applianceadvances step by step over the surface' vof the cloth, the presser footbeing maintained against the cloth during the reciprocations of theneedle, and means for reciprocating the needle, said appliance advancingautomatically along the fabric during and as a consequence of theoperation of the needle, and means for directing vthe thread downVthrough .the interior of the needle.

23. A power-driven turng appliance comprising a tubular needle throughthe interior 'of which the thread feeds, said tubular needle having itslower end face inelining upwardly and rearwardly, a presser footjuxaposed to the needle, means for reciprocating the needle, the presserfoot being maintained against the cloth fil as the needle reciprocates,said appliance feed- .ing itself along the surface of the cloth,substanance having thread guiding means extending exteriorly ofthecasing, said casing having an opening through which the thread passesand said needle having a lateral opening to receive the thread, said-needle being of tubular form and through which the thread passes to thepoint thereof, substantially as described.

26.' An appliance of the class described comprising a casing havingupper and lower por'- tions, a fixed presser foot at the base of thelower portion, a needle adapted to be reeiprocated through and guided bythe presser foot, a reciprocating head in said casing carrying saidneedle, and means within the upper portion of the casing forreciprocating the head.

27. Apower-driven turflng appliance comprising a casing, meansinteriorly of said casing for converting rotary into reciprocatingmotion, a hollow needle actuated by said means and mounted forreciprocation in the iower portion of said. casing, a member embracing apresser foot affixed to the lower end of the casing said membersurrounding and guiding said needle, and slots in said casing and needlefor the passage of a thread from a point. exteriorly of said casing toand longitudinaliy through said hollow needle, said presser footextending rearwardly of the needle and having a bearing surface onthefabric adequate to lock the last inserted loop.

WILLIAM D. VAN DY'KE.

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